Wire splicer



April 19, 1932. W. E, COOK 1,854,782

WIRE SPLICER Filled Aug. 9, 1928 INVENTOR MVM lll

Patented Apr. 19, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENTl OFFICE WILLIAM E. COOK, OF ST. GEORGE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T GENERAL CABLE CORPO- RATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION 0F NEW JERSEY WIRE sPLrcEn Application led `August 9, 1928. Serial No. 298,500.

My invention relates to wire splicers, and more particularly to .a splicer for use in Stringing either solid or stranded conductor wires of the larger sizes.

At the present time, the general practice is to use hard copper conductor Wires, solid or stranded, having high tensile strength, since even with fairly short runs of conductor wire, its sagging and swaying, coupled with its weight, may result in objectionable elongation, if soft wire be used. Heavy wires, solid or stranded, in connection with which the splicer of my invention'is adapted to be used, are delivered in fairly short lengths upon reels, the footage upon these reels varying with the diameter of the Wire.

Consequently, it is necessary for the linemen to splice diereiit lengths of wire when running a line, and heretofore and up to the present time, the practice has been to connect the ends of different lengths of wire by brazing them together, both as to solid and stranded wire, which practice not only consumes considerable time, but weakens the wire at the joint.

With small gauge wires, which can be twisted and soldered, there is no diliiculty in making a strong splice having good conductive properties. lVith heavy wires, either solid or stranded, however, twisting cannot be resorted to, and notwithstanding that wires of high tensile strength may be used, the strength of the strung Wires at the splices, when brazing methods are used, aiordspomts in the line, the tensile strength of whlch are very much less than that of the wire itself, and unless great care is exercised when making each joint, there may be a lower rate of conductivity of the line at a jomt.

With the above conditions in mind, I have produced a splicer by which the ends of diiferent lengths of wire in a conductor line, may be mechanically and electrically connected in a manner which will not only permit a rapid formation of the joint, but which will make the strength of the line, at the splice or joint, greatery than the tensile strength of: thewire itself. A

Ina splicer embodying the invention, there is no possibility of a weakening of the joint,

due to the strains thereon from the sagging or swaying of a. wire, since the action of suc sagging or swaying will have the eect of increasing the efectiveness of the joint secured by means of the splicer. Furthermore, the constructionof the splicer is such as to avoidany possible lowering of the conductivity of the line at the joint, means preferablybeing provided which will ensure an efective electrical connection between the ends of the two lengths of wire aswell as through the body of the splicer. In fact, in a splicer embodying my invention, the conductivity of the splicer is very much greater than that of the wire in connection with which it is used, and ample contacting surfaces between the splicer and th-e wire are aorded, so as t0 avoid any possible lowering of the conductivity of the line, irrespective of the number of splices` there may be therein.

I also so construct the splicery as to ensure its engagement with an effective length adjacent the end of the wire' of each length, and avoid any necessity for the exercise of any particular care by the lineman when making the splice.

In a device of the character to which my invention relates, production cost is no factor since its utility grows out of the saving of time in making thejoint, and the increase in the safety factor due' to the absence of all possibility of weak spots along the line arisin from improper brazing operations, and the effect of heat upon the wire when making such joints by brazing.

The effectiveness of the joints secured by a splicer of my invention results from its construction and is not dependent in any way upon the linemen, since no tools are required in making a joint. Furthermore, when a spliceihas once been used to connect two adjoining sections of wire, it becomes practically an integral part of the line, since separation of the two ends is practically impossible.

rIhe invention consists primarily in a`wire splicer embodying therein a sleeve of electroconductive material, open at both ends, a plurality of substantially abutting gripper jaws oi' electro-conductive material Within, ad-

l jacent and substantially ,co-terminus with each end and movable axially of said sleeve, said sleeve and said jaws having elongated oacting we'dging surfaces, and resilient means acting to thrust said jaws outwardly of said sleeve, whereby said jaws will be opened upon the insertion of .a wire therein,

and will be automatically closed by said resilient means following such insertion of the or c, c', c2 and c3, the outer each set of jaws,

wire, and outward movement ofthe wire or axial strains thereon will increase the gripping action of said jaws; and in such other novel features of construction and combination of parts, as are hereinafter set forth and described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

Referring to the drawings, v

Fig. 1 is a sideelevation of a wire splicer embodying my invention and the ends of two lengths of wire connected thereby; l

Fig. 2 is a longit-udinal section thereof upon a larger scale; Fig. 3 is a transverse section on 3 3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of the spacer for controlling the extent of penetration of the ends of the wire lengths to be spliced, while ensuring a-n electrical contact between the ends of the wire and the splicer.

Like' letters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In the embodiment` of the invention shown the line the drawings, the main body of thejsplicer 1s composed of a sleeve formed of two sections a and a', this sleeve being open at each end. The bore of the sleeve adjacent each open end thereof is interiorlytapered so as to form wedge surfaces within the sleeve. The exterior tapering of the sleeve, at the ends thereof, is merely for avoiding excess metal in the sleeve and for facilitating the binding of insulating tape' about the splicer when the same is used in connection with insulated wire.

The sleeve is made up of two sections a and a to permit the assembling of the device, the two sections preferably being permanently united by brazing, sweating. or soldering after assembly, to avoid possible tamperinglwith the active mechanisms of the splicer and ensure its use without the employment of tools by the linemen.

Adjacent each open end of the sleeve af-a is a plurality of gripper jaws b, b', b2 and b3 face of each jaw being tapered at the same angle as the inner face 4ofthe sleeve so as to provide, in wedge surfaces co-operating with the adjacent wedge surface of the sleeve. These jaws may be formed of a truncated metallic cone cut axially to produce the de'- sired number of jaws, a central bore having suitable gripping areas being formed in said cone before separating it into the independent jaws. The gripping area of each jaw preferably consists of a multiplicity of closely adjacent small teeth d, preferably pitched away from the open end of the sleeve. Other forms of gripping areas, however, may be used if desired, provided that the number and strength is such as to prevent possibility of the stripping of the jaws or the wire when stresses are applied thereto. l

Acting to thrust the jaws adjacent each end of said sleeve, outwardly thereof, so as to have a normal tendency to close said jaws to their maximum extent, is resilient means which, in the form of the invention illustrated, consists of two springs c and f, one end of each spring being seated against a partition or spacer g within the sleeve, and ,the other end of each spring acting against all of the jaws at one end of the sleeve. By this construction, the jaws at either end of the sleeve Ymay have inward movement against the tension of the spring, and when the pressure upon said jaws is released, the spring will develop sufficient wedging action to set the jaws upon the wire in a manner to be more fully referred to hereinafter.

While the partition g will, of itself, limit the lextent of penetration of a wire end and avoid any possibility of the end' of one section of wire interfering with the proper extent of penetration of the other end of the wire to be coupled thereto by means of the splicer, I prefer to use in conjunction with said partition, yieldable contact members engageable by the ends of the wire so as to ensure electrical contact wires-and some portion of the splicer.

In the accompanying drawings, the partition g is shown as being provided with tubular extensions h and i, in the opposite ends of which are mounted and having contact heads at their outer ends as shown at j and k to prevent either being thrust to more than a limited extent within the tube. Seated between the plungers j and r: is a coiled spring m having a normal tendency to thrust said plungers in opposite directions to a limited extent only.

The tubular portions L and z' form suitable guides for the springse and fi The sections a and aof the sleeve of the splicer may be connected in any desired manner, preferably by means of a screw threaded joint, to facilltate the tensioning of the springs e and f when assembling, but after the parts have been once united, they may be permanently secured in relation to each other by means of soldering, sweating or brazing.

sions must be used with wires or cables having substantial variation in their diameters, l'

between such ends of the metallic plungers j and the variation of the diameters of wires in connection with which the splicer is designed to be used, will range from one-quarter of a inch to an inch and a half.

It is obvious, therefore, that the same splicer ,might be used vwhere the variation of diameter does not exceed about a quarter of an inch, but that beyond this range, larger or smaller splicers must be used.

The extension of the jaws beyond the ends of the sleeve, as shown in the drawings, is largely a matter of convenience, although if desired, such extending ends may have a tool applied thereto for opening the jaws in the event that it is desired to remove a wire therefrom.

The end of one length of wire is shown at n and the end of another length of wire to be connected therewith is shown at o.

Preferably, the sleeve a-a, the gripping jaws therein and the spacer are made of a high grade, hard bronze such as Tobin bronze, which may be readily machined and yet possesses inherently greater strength than the wires with which the splicer is to be used. The operation of the herein described splicer is substantialy as follows When the splicer is not in use, the springs e and f force the oppositely movable sets of jaws b, b', b2 and b3 and c, c', c2 and c3 out- Wardly of the opposite ends of the sleeve a-a and hold them firmly in the closed position, reducing the 'opening within the gripping areas of the jaw sections to its smallest diameter, and one smaller than that of the smallest dia-meter of wire with which the splicer can be used.

Preparatory to, or during the Stringing of, adjacent lengths of wire, the lineman merely forces the end of one length of wire n against the exposed ends of one set of jaws b to b3 with one hand, while holding the sleeve a-a with the other hand. The thrust of the wire overcomes the tension of the spring and moves the jaws inwardly of said sleeve.

Since the sleeve is ordinarily held substantially horizontally, the co-operating'wedge surfaces exteriorly of the jaws, and interiorly of the sleeve, will permit one or more of thel jaws to move away from the others until the opening within the jaws becomes sulficiently enlarged to receive the wire.

Ordinarily, all of the jaws will have substantially the same movement inwardly of the sleeve, but this is immaterial so long as some of the jaws have sufficient movement to secure the necessary enlargement of said opening. p

When suiiicient clearance between the jaws has been thus secured, the wire will pass freely into this opening, andthe spring e will immediately set the gripping areas or teeth d of the jaws upon the wire, due to the wedging action developed by the thrust of the spring. Irrespective of the extent of penetration of the wire, the strength of the spring and the wedging action will grip the wire sufiiciently tightly to prevent movement thereof outwardly of the sleeve, without imparting similar movement to the jaws.

Hence, any pull upon the wire, after it has once been inserted within the opening of the jaws, will merely increase the strength of the gripping action. The spring e acts merely to develop an initial gripping of the wire by the jaws, and thereafter, longitudinal stresses upon the wire, lwhether these be merely an attempt to withdraw the wire from the splicer, or the result of sagging, stretching or swaying of the wire after it has been strung, will serve merely to strengthen the gripping action of the jaws. The limitation of the closing action of the jaws will prevent such strains from causing the teeth or other gripping areas cl to penetrate the wire to an extent to weaken t-he portion of the wire engaged by said jaws. Y

Vhile pull upon the wire will merely act to increase the gripping action of the jaws, nevertheless the wire may be thrust inwardly of the sleeve to any extent, since the jaws will move freely with the wire against the tension of the spring e and could be passed through the sleeve sufliciently, if proper care were not exercised, to engage it with the other jaws c to c3 and interfere with their action, were it not for the'use of t-he spacer g limiting such movement.

Since a partial withdrawal of the wire from the splicer is neither possible nor desirable, the spacer g, or its equivalent, is highly desirable in securing a proper and rapid application of the splicer to the wire, since a lineman vwill ordinarily force the wire inwardly of the sleeve to the fullest possible extent with a single thrust thereupon, and engage it with the spacer g upon the completion of this action. This is also desirable as it will secure electrical contact between the end of the wire and the spacer.

The yieldably supported plunger y' is used to maintain the electrical contact between the wire and the spacer, and with the length of wire o. This contact plunger, will yield as it is engaged by the wire.

After the end of one length of wire n has been properly secured within one set of jaws b to b3, as above described, the end of the ladjacent length of wire 0 is similarly secured within the other set of jaws c to c3, the procedure and action of the jaws being the same.

The spring'm is normally untensioned, so

that the engagement of the end of one wire length nwith the plunger y' will merely move thespring and both plungers j-c axially' of the tubes h and i. The engagement of the end Vof the other wire length 0 with the plunger c will, however, tension said spring and cause that movement of both plungers necessary to establish and maintain electrical contact of the plunger with' the wires n-o respectively, and form a conductive path through the spring from one to the other.

Since the splicer may be used with wires having a narrow range of difference in diameter, the yieldable contact members, j-c will fully compensatel for varying outward movements of the jaws and wires with wires of different sizes. This, while desirable, is not essential.

In a splicerjembodying the invention, the gripping action is so strong that suliicient stress may be applied to heavy wires to break them without disturbing the portions of wire engaged by the jaws.

The multiplicity of teeth d not only extends the gripping area'along a considerable length of' the wire, but permits the use of short teethy which.- become imbedded in the wire and afford an area of conductivity much greater than the cross section of the wire itself. The co-operating wedge surfaces are, when a wire is positioned in the splicer, forced into such close contact as to avoid any air space, thus ensuring high conductivity through the sleeve itself from one wire length to another.

The portion of a line at the splice is of greater tensile strength, and affords higher conductivity, ythan the wire itself.' After the application of the'splicei` to adjacent wire lengths, itmay be wound with insulating tape 'in the manner now followed with a brazed splice.

To form a joint with a splicer embodiing the invention requires only a few secon is done without the use of tools of any'kind, and requires no especial care or attention to ensure a perfect electrical connection between two lengths of wire.

WVhile in the drawings, a solid wire is shown, the action of the splicer is the same with stranded wire, and the results are the same, since the wedging action upon the jaws will compact the strands of such wire-in a manner to hold all strands firmly in relation to thesplicer andto each other. shown that tensional stresses upon stranded wire will result in the breakage of even the center strand of the ing between the wire anfL the splicer.

It is not my intention to limit the invention to the precise details of construction and combination of parts shown in the drawings, it being apparent that such may be varied without departing from the spir1t and scope of the invention. y

Having described the, invention, what I claim as new and desire to have protected by Letters Patent, is

1. A wire splicer embodying therein a sleeve'of electro-conductive material, open at both ends, a plurality of substantially abutting gripper jaws of electro-conductive material within, adjacent and substantially co-ter- Aslidably 'mounted in said tubular .lent means acting to Tests have wire without any yieldminus with each end and movable axially of, said sleeve, said sleeve and said jaws having elongated coacting wedging surfaces, a partition intermediate the ends of said sleeve having tubular extensions thereon, plungers extensions respectively, resilientmeans acting upon said plungers, Ywhereby said plungers will limit the extent of movement of a wire end inwardly of said sleeve, and will have movement with said gripper jaws and said wire end outwardly of said sleeve, and maintain electrical contact with said wire ends, and resilthrust said jaws outwardly of said sleeve, whereby said -jaws will be opened upon the insertion of a wire therein, and will be automatically closed bysaid resilient means following such insertlon of the wire, and outward movement of the wire or axial strains thereon will increase the gripping action o'f said jaws.

` wire splicer -embodying therein a lsleeve of electro-conductive material, open at both ends, a plurality of substantially abutting gripper jaws of electro-conductive material within, adjacent and substantially coterminus with each end and movable axially of, said sleeve, said sleeve and said jaws having yelongated coacting wedging surfaces, a partition intermediate the ends of said sleeve having tubular extensions thereon, plungers slidably mounted in said'tubular extenslons respectively, a spring seated between and acting upon said plungers, whereby said plungers will limit the extent of movement of a w1re end inwardly of said sleeve, and will havemovement with said gripper jaws and said wire end outwardly of said sleeve, and maintain electrical contact with said wire ends, and resilient means lacting to thrust said jaws outwardly of said sleeve, whereby said jaws will be opened upon the insertion of a wire therein, and will be automatically closed by said resilient means following such insertionv of the wire,

the grlpping action of said jaws.

wire splicer embodying therein a sleeve of electro-conductive material, open at both ends, and having an interior taper adjacent each open end, a plurality of substantially abutting gripper jaws of electro-conductive material within, adjacent substantially co-terminus with each end and movable axially of, said sleeve, each of said jaws having an exterior taper engaging the interior taper of said sleeve, and having a multiplicityof short teeth presented toward an opening formed within said jaws, a partition intermediate the ends of said sleeve having tubular extensions thereon, plungers slidably mounted iny saidI tubular extensions respectively, a spring seated between and acting upon said plungers, whereby said plungers will limit the extent of movement of a wire and outward movement of l the wlre or axial strains thereon w11l lncrease Lasagna end, inwardly of said sleeve, and will have movement with said gripper jaws and said wire end outwardly of said sleeve, and mainn tain electrical contact with said wire ends9 and springs acting between said partition and the gripper jawsl adjacent each end of said sleeve respectively to `thrust said jaws outwardly of said sleeve, whereby said jaws will loe opened upon the insertion of a wire therein, and will be automatically closed by said springs following such insertion of the Wire., and outward movement of the wire or am'al strains thereon will increase the gripping action of said jaws.

ln witness whereof I have hereunto aiixed my signature this 7th day of August, 1928.

- WILLIAM E. COOK. 

